A draw would have been enough for Puskás Akadémia to achieve group victory and reach the final against Sporting, but in Thursday’s final match, the host team quickly proved that they wanted to finish this quartet with a flawless result. In the 3rd minute, Gruber dribbled inward within the penalty area when he was tripped. Norbert Kiss converted the conceded penalty very confidently. By the 9th minute, Osijek was not only a goal, but also a man down, as Bjelivuk was shown the red card. Still, the lead did not increase from the conceded free kick, as Gruber hit it a little too high, although not by much. In the 14th minute, at the end of an exemplary attack, the ball was linked between Bakti, Gruber and Valentin Szabó, the latter firing the ball against the crossbar. The drinks break held in the middle of the first half clearly benefited Osijek. But the momentum of our team was not over. Gruber first shot too high from the corner of the opponent's six-yard box, then a minute later tried his luck from the left, but the defenders stepped into his back-heel shot. In the 24th minute, our advantage already increased to two goals. Bakti got the ball at the edge of the penalty area and hit it perfectly, firing into the bottom right corner. Immediately after halftime, yet another goal came. Valentin Szabó got a great through-ball, he hit the post once more, but this time his ball bounced in from the bottom of the left crossbar. Then came Gruber’s chances, who was unlucky enough not to score this afternoon. At first, Sajko saved his shot delivered from 18 metres. Then Norbert Kiss lobbed it perfectly to the striker heading for goal, but this time it was the Croatian goalkeeper who stepped out of his goal at the right moment and saved once more. The third part of the duel between Gruber and Sajko was again won by the Osijek goalkeeper, when the Hungarian striker penetrated in front of the opponent’s goal, but this time his less powerful shot bounced back into the field from the goalkeeper’s head. Gruber therefore did not score, as Gábor Székely was already resting his key players for Friday's final, replacing them one after the other, Gruber being no exception. The difference could have been bigger anyway, but the man of the match was clearly Sajko. The goalkeeper of NK Osijek even saved Sárközi’s 1v1 shot with his leg in the final minutes, he could not be tricked any more. That is how the three-goal difference remained. The host, winning all three of their matches, became first in their group. It can be therefore stated that the two best teams of this year’s Puskás-Suzuki Cup will face each other in the Friday final, when our team will take on Sporting in the Pancho Arena.

Puskás Akadémia FC – NK Osijek  3-0 (2-0)

Puskás pitch

Referee: Antal (Máyer, B. Kiss)

Goal scorers: Kiss N. (4., from a penalty), Bakti (24.), Valentin Szabó (32.)

Yellow card: Doric (34.), Ivancan (45.)

Sent off: Bjelivuk (9.)

Puskás Akadémia FC: Pécsi – Koch, B. Farkas (Vajda, 36.), Babós, Bányai – Bakti, Kocsis (Major 44.), Kicsun (Bontás 36.), N. Kiss – V. Szabó (Perfetto, 44.), Gruber (Sárközi, 49.)

Head coach: Gábor Székely

NK Osijek: Sajko – Vrljic, Bjelivuk, Bukvic, Doric,  – Baric, Sinkovic ( Pekaric, at halftime), Ivancan (Perkovic, 45.), Pajic (Besirovic, 38.) –  Damjanovic (Prekodravac, 9.), Blazanovic (Verhas, 38.)

Head coach: Ante Bekavac